The Origins of the Canadian Wheat Boom, 1880-1910

Tony Ward

Canadian Journal of Economics, 1994, vol. 27, issue 4, 865-83

Abstract: Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway was expected to initiate a rush of settlement, yet the wheat boom did not materialize until about fifteen years later. In addition to causes of the delay already identified, this paper proposes another factor--the inability of early settlers to cultivate more than a small area of land. The paper analyzes reasons for the small sizes of early farms and for their subsequent growth and estimates farm profitability before and after the delay to show how climate and technology affected early prairie farming. Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway was expected to initiate a rush of settlement, yet the wheat boom did not materialize until about fifteen years later. In addition to causes of the delay already identified, this paper proposes another factor--the inability of early settlers to cultivate more than a small area of land. The paper analyses reasons for the small sizes of early farms and for their subsequent growth and estimates farm profitability before and after the delay to show how climate and technology affected early prairie farming.

Date: 1994
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